


Strong.

by bamimilyt6



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: Return, delightfulization, first knd story on ao3 woot woot, kind of, sector z returns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2019-11-24 21:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18169958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bamimilyt6/pseuds/bamimilyt6
Summary: Ever since Sector Z became delightfulized, they have been constantly trying to escape the hive mind they're trapped in. Their attempts had been unsuccessful, until one day, when Lenny finally managed to break free.Three-shot! [A re-telling of Operation: U.N.D.E.R.C.O.V.E.R.]Cross-posted on fanfiction.net!





	1. Chapter 1

**One**

“This can’t be real,” he whispered.

Lenny stared at his hands, his own hands, hands that had to be moving independently from the others’. He wasn’t peering at them through some mental peephole from within that horrid hive mind; he saw them with his own two eyes. Gingerly wiggling his fingers, he looked out the bathroom door. Sure enough, none of the others stirred.

Was he finally free from the hive mind of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane?

He directed his attention to the bathroom mirror, where glowing icy blue eyes gazed back at him through the shadows of his football helmet. A sense of unease washed over him, his breath hitching in his throat. If he were truly free, he wouldn’t be wearing that stupid helmet and that stupid uniform. His eyes would be brown, not creepy-kid blue.

So this wasn’t permanent. He could turn back into a mindless brat at any time.

Even still, being back temporarily was better than not being back at all. His chest filled with sudden purpose: he needed to tell someone about this, someone in the Kids Next Door. Even if he would eventually rejoin his friends in delightfulization, this could be the beginning of the end for the Delightful Children, a new beginning for Sector Z.

After a moment of thought, Lenny slowly closed the bathroom door. Unfortunately, the rest of his sector was still delightfulized, and he couldn’t let them know that he was acting independently, if he could help it.

He hastily turned the sink on to where the temperature was boiling hot. Steam rose to the top of the room and slowly trickled its way down. Soon enough, the entire bathroom was full of steam, and the mirror had fogged over.

Perfect.

On the mirror, Lenny wrote a message for the Delightful Children.

 _I appear to have been severed from our connection._ _  
_ _I intend on using this to our advantage, to gain top secret information on the KND._

Lenny cringed at his handwriting, silently hoping it was neat enough to fool them. However, he didn’t exactly have time to dwell on the subject.

Quickly, he exited the bathroom and made his way downstairs as quietly as he could. As if it were instinct, he guided himself to the nearest module in the mansion, which just so happened to be in the basement.

Strange. Did he still retain his memories from when he was delightfulized, or was this simply muscle memory?

 _Focus_.

He turned on the module, typing in the access code of the module he wanted to communicate with: the Moonbase Module. Surely, whoever the Supreme Leader was at this point would understand. They had to understand… they _needed_ to understand…

He stood with his arms crossed as the connection request went through. Suddenly, a visual of two operatives popped up on the large screen. Both were female.

The one standing on the left had blonde hair and blue eyes—natural blue eyes that didn’t glow creepily like his. She appeared to be wearing a spy outfit of sorts, if he had to guess. To the right was a girl with kinky red hair and a lot of freckles. Her attire consisted of a baggy green sweater, an orange skirt, and a peeved expression.

He wouldn’t have known who they were if he didn’t have his memories from being a Delightful, but thank goodness he did. The two girls were Numbuhs 362 and 86, high-ranking and skilled operatives, if he remembered correctly.

He watched as the the two girls’ faces grew in surprise. Hastily, he asked, “May I speak with the Supreme Leader?” His voice sounded much different than he was used to, as in his Delightfulized form, he had an atrociously awful mouth brace for some unholy reason.

“No,” said Numbuh 362 immediately.

Numbuh 86, on the other hand, let out a crude laugh. “Ha! Like we’d let the likes of _you_ speak to the Supreme Leader!” she bellowed.

Lenny rolled his eyes, gripping the edge of the module tightly. Maybe he should’ve known this would happen... He sighed, taking off his helmet, revealing well kept hair and the reason for his impeded speech, neither of which he liked.

“Listen,” Lenny started, trying to keep his tone as professional as possible, “something really strange has happened. I’m not the guy you think I am. Please, I need to speak to the Supreme Leader _now_.”

“How do you even know the access code to contact this module?” Numbuh 362 asked, her eyes narrowing. “Only certain sectors have the direct access code for this module, and we trust them to keep it a secret.”

“The only explanation here is that ya stole it, ya Delightful Scum!” Numbuh 86 spat.

Lenny opened his mouth to explain that he _didn’t_ steal the access code, that he knows it because it was _given_ to him, because he’s _not_ a “Delightful Scum” and in fact a member of Sector Z, but someone else off screen cut him off before he had the chance to even utter a single word.

“Who’s calling the direct line?” they asked.

That voice caught Lenny off guard. Some of his memories were jumbled and mixed together, so he couldn’t exactly remember who the Supreme Leader was, but he definitely knew that voice.

...Could it really be?

When the person stepped into view, Lenny’s suspicions were confirmed. It really was his best cadet from his days as Kids Next Door Drill Sergeant, the kid who worked his way to the Moonbase Command faster than any operative he had ever seen,

Chad Dickson, Numbuh 274.

He was the Supreme Leader.

However, Lenny’s delight was quickly squandered when Chad stared at him with cold eyes, something that made the latter tense uneasily.

“I want you to explain yourself,” Chad demanded sternly.

Lenny regained his composure, standing up straighter. His current predicament had caught up with him: the Delightful Children from Down the Lane were one of the largest threats to the Kids Next Door, probably next to Father himself. Ergo, these Kids Next Door operatives saw him as their vehement arch nemesis, a villain. His current task was to convince them otherwise.

Easy enough, right?

When Lenny didn’t start talking right away, Chad repeated, “I _said_ , I want you to explain yourself,” once more, his voice practically dripping harshness.

Lenny held his arms respectfully behind his back, taking a deep breath before starting his wild explanation,

“Sir, this is Numbuh 0.4 of the lost Sector Z. Years ago, me and the rest of my sector were captured and delightfulized by Father. Our minds linked into one, and our individual consciousnesses were trapped away. Unknown to the rest of the Kids Next Door, we became known as ‘The Delightful Children From Down The Lane.’ We could not hear each other in this hive mind, except for when the Delightfuls cared to notice our existence. For some reason, I’ve been severed from that hive mind; that’s why I stand before you alone.

“I don’t know how long my individuality will last, but I need to at least try to get my friends back. I need the Kids Next Door to know what happened to Sector Z. Who, by the way, were given the access code to contact this module,” Lenny explained, looking pointedly at the two female operatives on screen.

“Bullhuey!” Numbuh 86 exclaimed. Numbuh 362 simply raised an eyebrow, an irritated look settling on her face.

Chad raised his hand, signalling for Numbuh 86 to stop before she started some sort of rant. She huffed.

“How do we know this isn’t a trick?” Chad asked skeptically, leaning forward. “For all we know, you and the other Delightfuls could be trying to sabotage us.”

“The way the Delightfuls’ hive mind works doesn’t allow us to act independently unless under intense emotional stress,” Lenny explained, “and that typically doesn’t last very long. That’s why we— _they_ —talk in unison. Plus, I don’t think the Delightfuls retain our individual memories, and even if they did, they would have forgotten or discarded them by now. Instead, they lock those memories away with us and let us suffer with them…”

As he trailed off, the old operative looked up at Chad, the mighty Supreme Leader who he last remembered seeing as a seven-year-old cadet. It was so hard to wrap his mind around. If he was Supreme Leader now… how long had Sector Z been delightfulized?

Lenny sighed. _Focus_.

“I know you don’t trust me, but ask me anything. I’ll prove to you I’m Numbuh 0.4,” he said.

Chad looked at Lenny doubtfully, but nonetheless asked Numbuh 362 and Numbuh 86 to leave the vicinity so he could interrogate Lenny. The two girls gave Lenny callous glances as they left, but they left all the same, leaving Lenny and Chad alone on the transmission.

Once he knew the other two operatives were gone, Chad wasted no time starting his inquiries. “Who was Supreme Leader when you were an active operative?” he asked seriously.

“Numbuh 447,” Lenny responded in an equally serious tone to show Chad he meant business. Though, the correct answer hardly seemed to phase the Supreme Leader, much to Lenny’s dismay.

“What position did you hold in and outside of your sector?”

“In sector? Hand-to-Hand Combat Officer. Drill sergeant for out of sector.”

“Why were you demoted from your drill sergeant position?”

“Numbuh 447 said I, quote unquote, ‘gave out too many chances.’”

“There is a secret organization within the KND that you were told about upon promotion. What are the initials of that organization?”

“TND.”

Chad paused momentarily before going back into his barrage of questions. “What number am I thinking of?” he asked skeptically.

“97.”

Lenny couldn’t help but smirk as Chad’s eyes widened in surprise. While to an outsider this question may seem completely unfair and even random, Lenny knew the answer like the back of his hand. It was a question that Chad had constantly asked him while in training, and it was the same number every time.

“Who was your top cadet from your time as drill sergeant?” Chad asked, his stare narrowing, not wanting to believe the mounds of evidence that were piling up.

“You, Chad Dickson.”

After that answer, Chad’s face fell. Static filled the atmosphere as neither of the operatives spoke. After a brief minute or so of thinking, Chad broke the silence and asked, “Do the other Delightfuls know of your current status?”

Lenny blinked as he processed what Chad had just said. The question was much kinder than the previous ones, though still serious in tone. Chad’s gaze even seemed to soften slightly.

Lenny almost couldn’t believe it. Chad had believed him… Chad actually believed him, even though the odds were stacked wildly against him.

Lenny cleared his throat, attempting to hide his excitement. “No, sir. In order to divert suspicion, I left them a message,” he responded in the most professional tone he could produce.

“Which read?”

“Er… ‘I appear to have been severed from our connection. I intend on using this to our advantage, to gain top secret information on the KND,’ I think.”

Chad nodded in approval, thinking once more. Eventually, a grin crept onto the Supreme Leader’s face.

“Numbuh 0.4, how would you like to take part in a mission for the Kids Next Door while you still can?” he asked. “You would be perfect for this one.”

Lenny’s eyes widened. The request seemed surreal. After what felt like an eternity of being trapped inside the mind of some awful, bratty zombie children, he was free... in a sense. Just the thought of actually helping the Kids Next Door instead of harming them, if only once, made him ecstatic.

“Of course! Uh, sir.”

Chad chuckled slightly. “You don’t have to call me ‘sir’, Numbuh 0.4. If anything, I should still be calling _you_ that.” Almost immediately after, though, his tone grew professional once more. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to save catching up for later. I think you’re on a time crunch. So, here’s the plan…”

After that, the interrogation of a Delightful Child turned into the debriefing of a temporarily recommissioned operative. Chad explained the plan: Sector V was planning on investigating something in the Arctic surrounding the Delightful Children from Down the Lane. There, Lenny would “accidentally” ruin the Delightfuls’ scheme, meeting Chad at the Moonbase as soon as possible afterwards.

Then, he would help bring down the Coffee Rig, run by the nefarious Cuppa Joe. All the while, he would hold “super top secret files” that in actuality were a popcorn bomb to be given to the Delightfuls. Hopefully his separation from the other Delightful Children would last that long…

Lenny listened intently to the Supreme Leader’s instructions. Though, in the middle of the debriefing, he heard the distant noise of footsteps. Many _synchronized_ footsteps.

_Oh, crud…_

Lenny hastily interrupted Chad by holding up his index finger. He gestured to the stairs in the background, muting the monitor shortly after. While he knew it was disrespectful, what with Numbuh 274 being Supreme Leader and all, certainly Chad would understand, given the situation…

He straightened his uniform, putting his helmet back on carefully so he didn’t hit his mouth brace. (Though, if by some unfortunate happenstance he knocked it out of his mouth, he wouldn’t exactly be upset). The rest of his sector—who Lenny had to remind himself were not actually his sector, not really—were coming, and he had to appear as if he were still delightfulized along with them.

Though, he wasn’t so sure if he was ready to see the Delightful Children from Down the Lane. It was one thing to see them from inside the hive mind, but seeing them up close and personal was something totally different. They were his sector, his _friends_ , turned into obedient little creeps. It was so unfair.

But, alas, lots of things were unfair. He couldn’t stop himself from being demoted. He couldn’t stop his sector from being delightfulized. He couldn’t stop the Delightfuls from making their eerily long journey down the stairs.

When they finally reached the basement floor, however, it took all of his willpower to not audibly gasp.

Bruce, the leader of the greatest sector ever known, was front and center of the heinous pod. His face that would typically be forced into a frown (because everyone knew he always tried to act high and mighty) was expressionless and gaunt. That secret sparkle in his green eyes that showed he actually cared deeply for his sector? Gone, dulled by the icy blue of delightfulization.

Slightly behind him was Constance, sweet Constance, whose unruly pigtails had been turned into neat braids. He was surprised to see her mouth so naturally closed—typically, she talked nonstop and had to consciously keep her mouth shut, lest she wanted to be reprimanded by Bruce. Her sunglasses were turned into regular, boring, un-Constance-like circular glasses. The reflective glint bothered him.

Ashley stood behind Constance. Typically, Lenny could catch a few glimpses of her in his peripherals when the Delightfuls turned right, but that didn’t make her any less unsettling. Her skirt was the most obvious thing out of place. It would take more than two hands to count the hours she had spent ranting how much she hated skirts and bows and other frivolous things. The bags under her eyes also stuck out like a sore thumb. He’d never seen her look so… not herself before.

And in the very back was David. Seeing him emotionless and malevolent was probably the most gut-wrenching of the four. He could never picture David being angry, let alone doing undue harm to someone else. David was kind and paranoid and nervous, not evil. Though, there he was, standing tall and sinister behind the rest, his hair thankfully covering his dazed eyes.

These were not his friends. This was not Sector Z.

“You know you’re not supposed to be in Father’s sanctum, Lenny,” the Delightful Children warned in perfect unison, their ice blue eyes cutting into his conscience. The voices of his friends were melded together… He tried his best not to grimace at the sound.

“Did you receive my message?” Lenny asked, attempting to make his voice sound creepy and unsettling like theirs.

“Yes,” the Delightful Children responded gleefully. Their stern faces turned into evil grins, causing Lenny’s stomach to drop. “You plan on using our pitiful pasts as Sector Z to get top secret information from the Kids Next Door?”

“Precisely. I am in the middle of arranging it right now,” Lenny said. Curiosity washed over the faces of the Delightful Children as their heads turned to the monitor where Chad remained, looking at the scene with a raised eyebrow. “Do not worry. He can’t see or hear us. Now if you don’t mind, I do not wish for the leader of the Kids Next Door to become suspicious.”

“Of course, Lenny. Take all the time you need,” the Delightful Children responded, grins returning to their faces as they made their way back upstairs.

Lenny listened to the fading footsteps. Once he knew the Delightful Children were gone, he unmuted the monitor.

“Sorry, I didn’t expect them to wake up,” Lenny said somewhat sheepishly. However, his tone was mostly filled with dejection. His eyes briefly travelled back upstairs, where the Delightful Children had gone, where his trapped friends unwillingly followed.

If anything, he was doing all this crazy nonsense for them. For Bruce, for David, for Ashley, for Constance. For Sector Z.

Suddenly, the Supreme Leader’s voice boomed from the monitor, causing Lenny to swiftly turn his head. Chad was standing tall with a determined expression.

“Don’t worry. The Kids Next Door will find a way to get your sector back, no matter how long it takes,” Chad assured. Lenny nodded in affirmation.

“Oh, and Numbuh 0.4?” Chad asked.

“Sir?”

“Welcome back.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lenny travels to Moonbase, where he meets Numbuh 274 in person for the first time in many years.

**Two**

In all honesty, Lenny thought he would be used to seeing his friends delightfulized by now, numb to the shock of seeing his friends as zombies. But, apparently, that's not just something you can brush off in a few hours.

Somewhere beneath those unnerving, ice blue eyes were his friends. They could see him through whatever peephole the hive mind allowed them, he just knew it. They _had_ to know that he was acting on his own accord. So maybe, just maybe, that would give them hope, the power to resist their overbearing delightfulization…

Lenny would be lying if he said he wasn't discreetly looking for out of sync movements like his. He just held onto a vague hope that maybe his sector could miraculously overcome the effects of the Delightfulization Chamber. However, the satisfaction of such reality never came.

Throughout the entire mission, right to the very moment they sauntered down the lane to their glorious mansion, the Delightful Children were just that: delightful. And it was awful.

Lenny sighed to himself, shaking his head to clear out his wishful thoughts. He had bigger fish to fry.

As soon as the Delightful Children were in their beds, sound asleep for their after mission nap, Lenny slowly untucked his covers. He tried, he really did, to focus on the mission instead of the Delightful Children, but he couldn't stop himself from looking back.

When they were all snuggled up in their covers, they almost looked normal again. A sense of determination and revenge rush through him.

 _I will get you guys back, no matter what it takes_ , he thought before quickly dashing out of the room.

Lenny rushed down the stairs as quietly as possible. After a mission report from the Delightfuls, Father always retreated to his office, so for now, Lenny was safe. He ran as fast as he possibly could to the garage…

…which was _much_ bigger than he remembered it. Perhaps it was because he was there alone. He glanced around at the different vehicles and technologies that were just sitting in the garage, waiting to strike against the Kids Next Door.

"Sure would be a shame if a little birdy tipped off the KND about this place, huh?" Lenny mumbled to himself as he analyzed the jets, chuckling.

All of the jets in the garage were, much to his dismay, very large. Ferocious attachments were wedged on to make them look terrifying, though their sheer size would likely make an unsuspecting kid wet their pants on sight. There was no way he was getting one of these out of here without disrupting the entire mansion.

Sighing, Lenny climbed into the smallest jet he could find, trying his best to mute the sound of his shoes clambering against the metal. He plopped down in a ginormous seat meant for five, gingerly grabbing hold of the controls. It had been forever since he'd flown a jet, on his own, at least…

"Now or never," he mumbled, turning on the engine.

The jet roared to life, creating obnoxious rumblings that spread throughout the entire garage. The turbulence was strong. Clenching the controls tighter, Lenny thrusted the fuel lever forward, causing the jet to immediately crash through the garage door and soar upwards into the sky.

And, of course, Lenny took this experience like the true Kids Next Door operative he was and screamed like a banshee.

It took all of his strength to dominate the controls of the jet before it spiralled out of control, especially since he was trying to do the work of five as one, but he managed to stabilize the aircraft. He refused to let himself get caught like this, not when he was so close to escaping, not when he was one step closer to potentially saving his friends.

And just like that, he was on a course to leave the atmosphere. Lenny gave a huff of relief, relaxing his grip on the controls ever so slightly.

 _And I haven't even gotten to the hard part yet_ , he thought dejectedly.

His journey was heading towards the stars, and it was nowhere near over.

* * *

 The Moonbase creeped into sight, and geez, it had gotten _big_.

Lenny marveled at the advanced 2x4 technology buzzing around the base. The last time he was here, the Moonbase was probably only as big as two or three treehouses combined… But now, it had to be at least as big as twenty, maybe even more!

...How much happened when he was delightfulized?

Thinking about his delightfulization caused Lenny to look down at his clothes, that stupid uniform. It dawned on him once again that he wasn't truly free from whatever Father did to them all those years ago. He would still be considered the enemy. Going in there like this was sure to cause a ruckus.

Lenny slapped himself, stopping the rockets of the jet before he was completely in view of Moonbase security. How could he be so thoughtless? He quickly put in the code to the Supreme Leader's Moonbase Module, drumming his fingers on the dashboard as he waited.

A monitor sprung out of an opening on the dashboard, revealing a stern-faced Chad. The Supreme Leader's gaze softened when he noticed only one of the Delightful Children were present, the one who currently wasn't delightful.

"Did you complete Phase One?" Chad asked.

"Yes, and I successfully escaped the Delightful Mansion. But, eh… All of the Delightfuls aircrafts are… less than subtle. I took the smallest one I could find, but if I go in, I'm certain I'll get caught," Lenny sighed, slouching back in the ginormous chair he was sitting in.

Chad seemed to mull over this information for a second. "Hold on," he said. He left the transmission, leaving Lenny floating aimlessly in space. Lenny sighed, slouching down further in his chair.

Suddenly, a strange voice he'd never heard before boomed through one of the speakers, "Operative, you are clear for landing on the Moonbase. I repeat, operative, you are clear for landing on the Moonbase."

Lenny raised an eyebrow, gingerly sitting back up. He cautiously crept towards the Moonbase, and sure enough, a docking bay was open.

He smiled. It seemed being Supreme Leader had its perks.

Very clumsily, Lenny rattled the jet onto the docking bay. The piercing noise of metal against metal rang in his ears. His immediate reaction was to shout for Constance, but then it dawned on him for the umpteenth time that she and the rest of his sector were brainwashed.

He was on his own.

He grunted, slamming on the breaks as forcefully as possible. The scratching of metals pounded in his ears. Slowly, the jet skid to a stop just before it hit the wall. Lenny found it in himself to release his grip and fall to the floor. Never _ever_ was he flying a jet again.

The disgruntled operative exited the jet, seeing through the shadows of his helmet that the docking bay was essentially empty. It was a good thing, he supposed. At least he didn't hit anyone's shuttles, or get caught by Moonbase security.

As Lenny dusted himself off, he heard a voice from the end of the room.

"Delightfuls not fly much?"

Lenny looked up, his face immediately twisting into a smile. It was him.

"You know very well that I've never been good with 2x4 tech, Numbuh 274," he retorted.

Lenny approached Chad, and it became increasingly clear how much the little cadet he knew had grown. Most obviously and most disorienting was the fact that Chad was now taller than him, even if only by a few inches. There were prominent bags under his eyes, likely from working tirelessly as Supreme Leader, though Lenny could still see the same sparkle in them that he saw years ago when he worked as drill sergeant.

That had to be around six years ago, given how old Chad looked… He should be twelve at this point, or close to it. Close to decommissioning. Lenny chuckled in spite of himself.

"Last time I saw you, you just chose your numbuh. Now look at you," Lenny said, beaming.

"Time does fly, huh?" Chad lamented.

"More or less. Being trapped in your own subconscious does make time a little… strange."

Chad's shoulders visibly tensed. He looked away from Lenny, but did put a hand on his fellow operative's shoulder. "Numbuh 0.4, Sector Z was the best sector the Kids Next Door has ever seen. I was devastated when you guys went MIA, the entire organization was. But now that we know where you are and what happened, we can work on reversing it. We will bring Sector Z back, and the Delightful Children will be no more than a bad dream. I promise."

Just the mention of the Delightfuls gave Lenny a slight headache, but he nodded all the same. Chad proceeded to sneak Lenny through a secret hallway (presumably so people didn't fight him on sight) that led to the Supreme Leader's room.

Things suddenly became about business again, but Lenny could've spent an hour just talking to Chad about what he'd done for the Kids Next Door and how he climbed the ranks. The sheer memory of those days made him want nothing more than to be with his sector in the arctic, reprimanding Ashley and Constance for pranking cadets while Bruce and David claimed to have no part. But, of course, there were things to be done.

"Quick question," Chad blurted as soon as he closed the door, "how much do you know about coffee-based weaponry?"

Lenny raised his brow, tapping the side of his helmet in thought. Memories of the good days came rushing in his mind. "Considering Father was our main enemy, quite a bit. That is, unless it's changed."

"Eh, coffee doesn't typically get new developments, so that's good. That'll come in handy.

"Since we've last talked, there's been a rumor going around about a mole in the enemy camp. That, of course, is you. Once Sector V arrives, I'll explain this to them. You'll know when to reveal yourself. After some introductions and explanations, it'll just be you and Sector V. I put scripts in the helicopter for you to read once you get to Cuppa Joe's Coffee Rig so he thinks you're the Delightful Children. Sooner or later the actual Delightful Children will show up, and you'll give them the 'Top Secret Information' you promised, when in actuality, it'll be a popcorn bomb," Chad clarified, gesturing to a heavily locked briefcase. As he approached his desk, he added, "Also, for this mission to go smoothly, you're going to have to hold a cover."

Lenny crossed his arms, standing with an aggrieved eyebrow raised. "Why can't I just act like myself?"

"No offense, but you're just about as impulsive as half of Sector V. You did pretty well in front of the Delightfuls, and Sector Z is famous for their undercover missions, so I know you can restrain yourself."

Chad sighed, shaking his head. "What, with Nigel, Wallabee, Kuki… They go head first into disasters all the time. But, they're a very skilled sector. They can get out of it. I just don't need you leading that charge with them. You need to remain as unsuspicious as possible, got it?"

"Loud and clear," Lenny muttered.

He was slightly less excited about this mission now, given he still couldn't be himself, but then again, it wasn't like this was much different than any of his other spy missions. In his mind, he started to list off some of his traits that could land him in trouble… which turned out to be more than he'd like to admit. Maybe Chad did have a point…

"If you manage to combat the Delightfuls' influence after all that, contact the Code Module while the others are asleep and we'll go from there." Chad sat down at his desk, smiling knowingly in Lenny's direction. "I hope to see you on further missions, Numbuh 0.4. Today's mission starts now."

As if on cue, the faint sound of footsteps appeared. Lenny retreated to a dark corner of the room, part of his mind focused on molding his new cover, while the other was trying to pay attention to the scene about to unfold.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lenny finally starts his mission with Sector V.

**Three**

The main doors to the Supreme Leader’s room automatically opened, revealing the legendary Sector V.

Of course, Lenny had seen them before. Multiple times, actually. He remembered his voice screaming their names in anger and malice, as well as fighting them with incredibly complex weapons created from the combined intellect of all his sectormates. Seeing them now enticed a bittersweet feeling. As majority of Sector V saluted Chad, Wallabee Beetles babbled on about how seriously cool the Moonbase was.

“At ease, guys, and welcome to Moonbase. You may have heard that we have a spy in the enemy camp,” Chad said, holding a report folder that, from as far as Lenny could see, was relatively empty.

“Only rumors,” came the skeptical response of Nigel Uno.

Chad stood up from his desk, leaning down to grab something Lenny couldn’t quite see. “Well, they’re true. I want you to share our super special top-secret files with him,” Chad affirmed, handing Nigel the heavily protected wooden briefcase from beside his desk, Wally still babbling in the background.

“I understand,” Nigel said seriously. “So, who’s the mole?”

_Go time._

“I am,” Lenny said, drawing out his words with a certain vibrato he didn’t normally use. He felt his entire body tense as he stepped into the light, almost expecting to be killed on sight. Sector V stared at him in varying degrees of shock, and their eyes bore into him as he took off his helmet. The reminder of that unholy mouth brace only added to his discomfort.

As soon as he noticed his mouth brace, though, he saw a flash of orange lunge in his direction, accompanied by a guttural scream. “No, wait!” he exclaimed, but Wally had already landed on Lenny and chewed at his shirt like a rabid dog.

Lenny wanted nothing more than to don his boxing gloves and punch the kid in the face, but he quickly reminded himself that he _couldn’t_. He didn’t need Sector V angry with him, or Chad…

So, dejectedly, he stuck to screaming, “Get off me!” like some baby. Out of all the covers he’d done in his life, this was by far the most embarrassing, and a minute hadn’t even passed yet!

Suddenly, his attacker’s grip started to lessen as Wally was yanked away by Abigail Lincoln and Hoagie Gilligan. “Numbuh 4, stand down! I said... stand down!” shouted Chad, who started to jerk Wally away as well. The Supreme Leader eventually separated Numbuh 4 from Numbuh 0.4.

_So much for things going smoothly_ , Lenny thought as Abby and Chad hoisted him up. This mission was definitely going to be a nightmare.

* * *

 

Lenny knew it would be a long ride to the Coffee Rig when Kuki and Wally bombarded him with questions, Hoagie occasionally chiming in. There was _“How do you and the other Delightfuls even talk in unison?”_ this and _“Are any of the other Delightfuls spies?”_ that, as well as the ever-popular, _“How did you infiltrate the Delightful Children, anyway?”_ and _“Are the Delightfuls brainwashed or something?”_

He deflected most of the inquiries off with one off half-lies or long, elaborated stories he’d come up with on the spot. Eventually, they left him to his own devices (per Abby’s request), allowing him to simply observe with his thoughts.

For most of the ride to the Coffee Rig, Lenny sat on the couch in the helicopter, thankfully unbothered as he watched the antics of Sector V.  Lenny didn’t exactly know the positions of the sector’s members, sans the fact that Nigel was the leader. Given that Hoagie was the one flying the helicopter, Lenny assumed he was the 2x4 Technology Officer since Constance, his sector’s 2x4 Technology Officer, did the same. Though, he supposed that didn’t have to be the case for every sector…

On the other hand, Abby appeared to have some sort of power over the sector, given the other teammates listened to her just as well as they did Nigel. She was likely second-in-command, or maybe an older member of the sector. Maybe both, he didn’t know, nor did he care to ask.

Wally, he guessed, was the Hand-to-Hand Combat Officer like himself. Though Lenny liked to think he was more strategic than Wally, impulsivity seemed to be a common trait of direct combat specialists. Not every Kids Next Door operative would spring out of nowhere to attack a foe, after all.

Then, of course, there was Kuki. He had no clue what she did. He knew that she did something with hamsters and had an affinity for Rainbow Monkeys, but besides that, he drew a blank.

What he could clearly see, however, was how much Kuki and Wally _clearly_ liked each other. It didn’t take a Global Tactical Officer to figure that one out. If they really disliked each other as much as they claimed, they wouldn’t have been near each other for nearly the entire flight.

_They’re almost as oblivious as Ashley and David_ , Lenny thought. He smiled to himself, thinking of David’s poor attempts of flirting and Ashley’s adamancy that he only thought of her as a friend.

His smile washed away when he suddenly felt his hand twitch, an abrupt sense of doom clouding any semblance of rational thought. He watched in petrified silence as his hand curled into a fist on its own accord. The headache he had earlier forcefully returned. In some sort of epiphany, he knew what was going on.

They were near the Coffee Rig, and the Delightful Children from Down the Lane were already there. His connection to the hive mind was so strong that he could sense where they were…

…and that meant he didn’t have much time left as himself.

Thankfully, Hoagie announced, “We’re closing in on the Coffee Rig. We should arrive in T-Minus five minutes.” Maybe there was still time for the mission…

“Everyone, get in position,” Nigel instructed, grabbing the stack of scripts Chad had left in the helicopter. He handed them out to Abby, Kuki, and Wally respectively, keeping the last one for himself. Lenny had a strange feeling he already knew what to say.

The five situated themselves on the steps to the couch. Abby was at the top step, Lenny and Kuki took the bottom step, while Wally and Nigel stood on the floor. As they approached, the group grew increasingly more alert, just like Sector Z. Lenny brushed off the intrusive, melancholic thought.

_Focus._

Hoagie gave a thumbs up, signalling that they were transmitting audio to the Coffee Rig. Everyone looked at Lenny, who began their delightful recreation, “Delightful Children to Triple Espresso, requesting permission to land.” The combination of voices was uncanny to that of the actual Delightful Children.

“Hey, you guys are good at this,” Lenny said before he could stop himself, giving the operatives an impressed look.

Before anyone could respond, a voice was heard from the other end of the line, the diabolical Cuppa Joe. “Good to have you back! Please transmit password.” His voice held a thick southern accent, one that gave Lenny serious déjà vu, but he quickly chalked it up to his memories from delightfulization.

“The password is, sheep.”

“Oh, I’m sorry… That password has been, cancelled!”

Suddenly, the view from the helicopter was filled with a barrage of coffee beans, tossing everyone in the cabin every which way as Hoagie tried to gain control of the aircraft. Lenny climbed his way up to the front window, looking at the ambush from the shaky interior. He found himself turning to Nigel like he would Bruce, donning an expectant look.

“They’re onto us! Did you guys happen to have a Plan B?” he asked in the shaky voice he’d been using all afternoon. The answer, he already knew…

“The Kids Next Door always have a Plan B!”

* * *

 

And… Plan B failed. A group of Coffee Rig workers hoisted the defeated operatives from their sinking sub, crowding them onto the rig itself. They were completely surrounded, no place to run or hide.

At this point, Lenny was absolutely done with this mission. Sector Z would’ve been in and out of this place by now, but Chad wasn’t lying when he said Sector V dove head first into disaster. Not only that, but his headache was growing ever stronger. His time as an individual Kids Next Door operative was wasting away as the captives meandered over to Cuppa Joe.

“Well, well, well… If it isn’t the famous Kids Next Door! It seems the Delightful Children overestimated your abilities!” the villain taunted, his eye twitching as he leaned forward. Lenny couldn’t help but notice the own twitching in his hands and fingers that were becoming increasingly worrisome, not to mention annoying.

“Ha! We’re the best there is!” Lenny shouted, his voice not as intimidating as he wanted it to be due to the unholy mouth brace.

“Hm.. do I know you?” Cuppa Joe inquired, tapping his finger on his chin spastically.

Lenny raised an eyebrow, a vain smirk caking his features. “Not really, but let me introduce myself.”

Lenny could not give two cruds about his cover now. When he turned back into a Delightful, he didn’t want to be remembered as cowardly and nervous. He wanted to be remembered as someone worthy of being a Kids Next Door operative, one of the best there ever was!

Though, contrary to Chad’s statement, coffee _had_ advanced in the past few years. Cuppa Joe sped away from Lenny at a incomprehensible speed, leaving the operative hurling directly into the concrete. As if his headache wasn’t already bad enough.

His face, and consequently his mouth brace, took the brunt of the fall. His teeth and forehead were pounding in pain. It was agonizing. As if that wasn’t enough, his vision began to blur, and he wasn’t quite sure whether the hive mind or his fall were responsible.

Cuppa Joe ran back over, obnoxiously tapping Lenny on the head. Lenny’s injuries pounded to the rhythm.

“Do your worst, kiddy!” the adult exclaimed, rushing over to Sector V. “I’m running off of--” In a split second, he appeared on a higher level of the rig, just above the cornered children. “--six cups of coffee!” He returned back to his workers on the main level within a few seconds, where his employees stared at him in admiration.

“You can’t touch me,” he spat, chugging some coffee.

Lenny’s mind just barely caught up with the situation as scalding hot coffee dripped on him from the higher levels. He rubbed his head, but the headache just got worse and worse, and no amount of soothing would make it go away. He could turn back into a Delightful any minute now.

The sound of laughing coffee rig workers grew more and more distant, whispers taking over the eerie space. He used whatever control he had left of his twitching body to turn to the blobs he thought were Sector V. “I’m… I’m sorry, guys,” he muttered.

“You gave it your best shot, mate, but don’t worry. We’ll get out of this mess somehow!” Wally encouraged, but Lenny could barely make out the words.

He would punch something if he could. The concrete, Cuppa Joe, himself, anything. He didn’t want to leave, not after all this. He couldn’t just go back to watching from a peephole, not being able to control anything, but even as he sat on the cold concrete of the coffee rig, he knew it was inevitable.

A static feeling snaked through his veins, a familiar static he felt years ago in that botched Delightfulization Chamber. It burned throughout his entire body like fire, cutting every bit of individuality out of him. He screamed his head off, but no sound came from his closed mouth. He had been reduced to a puppet yet again.

It was happening.

In the midst of his cloudy vision, Lenny saw a clear figure emerge above him. It appeared to be floating, or perhaps it was just on a higher level of the coffee rig. He honestly couldn’t tell the difference at this point. The more he focused on the mysterious figure, the more familiar it became. The silhouette became more detailed until it morphed its way into an old friend, Ashley. Her caring brown eyes stared down at him as she smiled.

“Come back, Lenny,” she said, her voice full of life, hope. She knelt down, extending a hand out for him. Without much effort, Lenny managed to stand and hobble closer to her. The closer he got, the more clear she became.

Behind Ashley, another figure waltzed in. Its tall stature immediately gave it away as another friend, David. His demeanor was the perfect blend of apprehension and confidence, just as it had been before he met his tragic fate.

Even with his friends reappearing right before his eyes, an ambiance of terror choked him. Something wasn’t right.

Lenny’s hands began to shake. He was going insane; he had to be going insane… He shouldn’t be able to move. His friends, they couldn’t really be here… They were the Delightful Children right now! He had to be seeing things… He felt the effects of delightfulization wearing on him. Maybe, maybe this was part of it…?

Though, David’s voice rang out loud and clear above all the other far-flung noises, “You’ve done good, Lenny, but it’s out of your hands now.”

“You’re not real,” Lenny muttered in a wobbly exhale, backing away slowly, though he didn’t really go anywhere.

Neither Ashley nor David moved. They stayed frozen in their welcoming stances, an eerie aura emanating from them. Instead, another figure walked in. He could recognize her pigtails a mile away in a blizzard. It was Constance. Her sweet smile that he usually loved now only radiated a bizarre sense of fatality.

“We’re proud of you for breaking the connection,” she soothed.

“You’re not really here!” he shouted, but as soon as Constance stopped talking, she too became as still as a statue. “Stop it!”

He stepped closer as Bruce approached the others. Tears filled his eyes as he shouted for the figments to go away, but the more words he bellowed, the quieter they became. He didn’t even know where they were anymore… His surroundings had faded into a black abyss.

That sparkle had returned to Bruce’s green eyes, but there was something sinister in his smile that Lenny couldn’t describe. He stood front and center, his arms crossed so as to keep his authoritative nature.

“Thanks to you, Sector Z will surely be back soon,” he said, giving an appreciative nod.

As Bruce’s motions slowed to a stop, all four of Lenny’s sectormates were right in front of him, frozen and fake. He wanted them to be real so badly, but he knew that this was merely some crude vision from the hive mind, surely. Those were not his friends.

Suddenly, of the haunting hallucinations dashed towards him with terrifying speed. Lenny didn’t even have time to react. They all crashed into him, sending Lenny soaring backwards into the darkness.

“It’s time to go home,” rang the voices of his friends. The phrase slowly amalgamated into a monotone chant, his friends’ cheerful overtones corrupted into the eerie growl of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane. Eventually, his own voice was added as if he had never left the hive mind in the first place.

Next thing he knew, his vision was clear. Clear, but tunneled, just like it was when he was within the hive mind. Though his body was covered in popcorn and butter, he still felt himself internally shaking.

His time was up.

As he got used to the familiar sensation, feelings of dread washed over him, that isolating loneliness of the hive mind. He wanted nothing more than to be with his sector. Bruce’s off-handed compliments, David’s warm hugs, Ashley’s radiating pep talks, and Constance’s never failing smile. He wanted it all, but it was just out of reach. The hallucinations seemed almost comforting now… 

There was a thought that lingered in the back of his mind as a grieved his friends, his freedom. It was a promise a former cadet made to him a few short hours ago,

_“We will bring Sector Z back, and the Delightful Children will be no more than a bad dream.”_

The Supreme Leader knew about their predicament. He would get them out of here somehow, Lenny knew it. In the meantime, he just needed to stay strong. 


End file.
